
The past few days reminded us about the life of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
PNoy, as he was fondly called during his presidency, passed away on June 24 due to renal disease secondary to diabetes.
While his achievements as a public servant were remembered, his private life post-presidency was also a matter of great public interest.
During a funeral mass organized on June 26 at the Church of the Gesú inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus, PNoy's celebrity sister, Kris Aquino, revealed that the song “Minsan ang Minahal ay Ako” was one of her brother's favorite songs.
“The whole of last night, while we were in Heritage, hinahanap ng staff there's one song in particular that Noy had been listening to over and over again, and I was told that it was his favorite," Kris told guests.
“And I think we spent three hours trying to research the song, it was originally done by Celeste [Legaspi] but it was the [Ice] Seguerra version that Noy had liked so much.”
Singing the song during the solemn event was Jaya, who only had a few hours to learn and practice the classic track.
Jaya's performance revived interest in the song, with people flocking online to hear the song again to dissect its lyrics and meaning.
But no one perhaps is in a better position to talk about it than the person who originally recorded the song, Celeste Legaspi.
“Minsan ang Minahal ay Ako” was penned by National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab and director Jose Javier Reyes.
“We created 'Minsan ang Minahal ay Ako' in 1987 for the musical 'Katy!' It was envisioned by our authors Jose Javier Reyes and Ryan Cayabyab to be the love letter of every performer for her audience,” Celeste posted on Facebook.
“It speaks of the love that can be taken away by a fickle public. But the love of the performer for her audience through the years remains pure and real even when forgotten.
“That the song took on a life of its own and became a favorite of many since then continues to amaze us.”
She added, “But to learn that PNoy loved our song and drew solace from it... I am confident I speak for the creative team of 'Katy!' - Joey, Ryan, Girlie Rodis, and I.
“It is our honour; we are deeply, deeply blessed.”
Katy! is a Filipino musical based on the life of Katy de la Cruz, dubbed as the “Queen of Philippine vaudeville and jazz.”
It made its stage debut in 1988 with Mitch Valdez playing the lead role of Katy de la Cruz.
Isay Alvarez assumed the lead character when the musical had a rerun in 2013.
Take a look at the many art tributes done in honor of the former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III: